MIT Masters Swimming Bylaws

Drafted on March 22, 2007 by Peter Bermel,
Bas Overbosch, and Patricia Christie.

Article
I: Mission Statement

The purpose of MIT Masters Swimming is to
increase opportunities for the entire MIT community to swim a coached workout,
in order to: improve physical fitness, improve swimming skills, provide stress
relief, and increase the sense of community among swimmers.

Article
II: Membership

1.Membership
shall be established by coming to coached workouts and paying required fees.

2.Membership
is open to anyone with a valid DAPER Facility Membership and a basic swimming
proficiency to complete a full workout (proficiency judged by coaches and
ultimately executive board).

3.MIT
Masters Swimming membership will at all times consist of at least 10 members in
good standing, and at least 60% of the members will have an affiliation with
MIT (MIT student, faculty, staff, alumni, affiliates, and their families).

4.If
the number of people interested in the program exceeds the space available, a
waiting list will be formed, and new members shall be added at the discretion
of the executive board, generally on a first-come, first-serve basis.

5.The
executive board will generally offer discounted membership to students in order
to encourage their participation, and may choose to reduce or waive fees in the
case of hardship.

Article
III: Coached Workouts

1.The
executive board shall organize regular coached workouts during the year. There
will be three terms per year for which members can pay their fees and swim
coached workouts: Fall, Spring and Summer. The Spring term shall generally be
construed to include IAP and thus last longer than the Fall term. Rough dates:
Fall lasts from September 1 through December 31; Spring lasts from January 1 to
May 31; Summer lasts from June 1 through August 31.

2.The
times, number of lanes, and coaches shall all be decided on by the executive
board with the needs of the membership as the guiding principle (if necessary,
these needs can be determined through surveys and the like).

3.Each
practice, competition, and other event (such as the One-Hour Swim), shall have
an instructor (coach) on-site. This instructor shall be paid at a rate that is
chosen by the executive board.

4.Swim Meets. MIT Masters Swimming members who would
like to swim meets with the team need to obtain a membership of the New England
Masters swimming club.

Article
IV: Executive Board

1.The
executive board shall consist of at least three members: the president,
treasurer and scheduler. The executive board may have up to four other at-large
members, who may run on a platform of serving specific roles, such as social
chair.

2.At
least 60% of the board members shall be affiliated with MIT, thus reflecting
the required 60% MIT-affiliated membership. All executive board members have to
be MIT Masters Swimming members in good standing.

3.The
coach(es) shall have the opportunity to sit in on the board meetings, but not
to vote.

4.Annual
membership meeting. The executive board shall be elected in an annual meeting that shall
be chosen to take place in the spring term between March 1 and Memorial
Day. If more than 10 members are present, their votes shall be considered
binding; otherwise, elections shall be conducted by the previous board via
secret paper ballots at workouts.

5.Removal
provisions. In cases where dissatisfaction is voiced
with any member of the executive board, the other members of the
executive board shall conduct a secret ballot of the membership of
MIT Masters Swimming, and if a 2/3 majority of at least 10 people vote to remove
that officer, that officer shall step down and a new vote shall be taken for
his or her replacement.

6.Executive Board Meetings. Executive board meetings shall
be held at least once every term. The minutes to the board meetings are
confidential. All decisions shall be made by a majority vote of all executive
members.

7.Full Membership Survey. At least once every year the
executive board shall survey the entire membership about the quality of the
program.

8.Amendments. Amendments to this constitution can be passed
by a two-thirds majority vote of the executive board.

9.Duties
of the three primary executive board members

a.President
The president will be in charge of planning the agenda for MIT Masters
Swimming, and will be in charge of the executive board. He or she shall
have the power to call for surveys, meetings, and votes by either the general
membership or the executive board.

b.Treasurer
The treasurer shall be in charge of the finances of MIT Masters Swimming. He or
she shall collect fees, and pay the expenses associated with the operation of
the club, particularly coaching fees and DAPER lane rentals. He or she shall
make sure the MIT Masters Swimming account remains in good standing. Finally,
he or she shall work in consultation with the scheduler to recommend fees for
each term.

c.Scheduler
The scheduler shall be in charge of scheduling coached workouts for MIT Masters
Swimming and informing the members about the schedule. He or she shall work out
which times are best for practices, in consultation with the executive board
and the general membership. He or she shall also coordinate the coaching
schedules. Finally, he or she shall work in consultation with the treasurer to
recommend fees for each term.

Article
V: DAPER rules compliance

The executive board shall ensure
compliance with the MIT Recreational Sports Aquatic Rules and Regulations
during workouts, and the rules set out by DAPER for Formal Recreational Groups.
This includes enforcing DAPER rules on membership make-up, facility membership,
and access policies. The executive board shall meet with DAPER on a quarterly
basis. Furthermore, one of the executive board members shall be designated as
the liaison to DAPER, i.e., serve as the designated contact person for
scheduling meetings and discussing any issues that may arise between MIT
Masters Swimming and DAPER, and convey any issues requiring further action to
the rest of the executive board.